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URBAN GUIDE

Looking for good ideas and places? With exhibitions, festivals, concerts, shops, capsule collections, restaurants, bars and more, our Urban Guide pages tell you what's on and what's just opened. A great way to discover all the richness and diversity of the Provence culture, shopping, food and drink, from. Local creators also have their say in these pages.

February 2023

Cultural destinations

A few hidden gems you should not overlook, between Aix-en-Provence and Porquerolles, mix every one of our senses.

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Darren Almond, Fullmoon@Sarranier, 2022. Tirage photo île de Porquerolles co-production Fondation Carmignac et l’artiste. Exposition L’Ile Intérieure (29 avril au 5 novembre 2023).

An island setting…

Edouard, his father, created the eponymous Foundation in 2000, but Charles Carmignac has displayed a private collection of 300 works here, spanning the 20th and 21st centuries since 2018. A unique panorama of contemporary creativity is also open to young talents and emerging countries. Art triumphs without constraint or bias in the Villa, wonderfully nestled between umbrella pines and vines, celebrated each year by an exhibition that is always eagerly awaited (L’Ile Intérieure, starting from 29 April). Permanent works designed for the site punctuate the route. Book your place for concerts and screenings. A unique and stunning visitor experience.

Piste de La Coutarde, Ile de Porquerolles

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Exposition Léon Wuidar, " Une peinture à géométrie variable" (20 mai - 10 septembre).© Bonisson Art center, 2021
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Nicolas Chardon & Michel Verjux pour l’exposition Cercles et Carrés 2021.

Extra-sensory culture

The contemporary art centre,  centred around artistic exploration and research, founded in 2021 by Christian Le Dorze, is in this family estate with its 10 hectares of organic AOP Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence grape varieties. Château Bonisson offers a rich and diverse invitation to let go by hosting projects by French and foreign talent inside and out. Painting, sculpture, photography, videos, performance, drawing, and graphics converge in free exhibitions. Georges Rousse, Claude Viallat and Denise René have been the driving force behind its development since it opened... Walk through the vineyard and taste the wine afterwards if you book.

177 route des Mauvares, Rognes

Prochaine exposition : Hopes & Fears de Jeanne Susplugas, 

11 mars au 7 mai 2023

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Consacrée dans son bassin, saisissante et hypnotique, la Crouching Spider de Louise Bourgeois accueille les visiteurs à l’entrée du centre d’art. © Richard Haughton

Château La Coste

A lively gathering…

 Art, architecture, wine, and gastronomy have made the Aix-en-Provence estate a top destination, all coexisting in harmony with nature around the sublime Crouching Spider by Louise Bourgeois. The men at work deal with the reputation of the wines. Some leading artists are on view in the permanent open air exhibition. The exhibition galleries, food, and wine sing from the same hymn sheet. La Coste is proud of the seamless integration of the Richard Rogers gallery after inaugurating the new Oscar Niemeyer pavilion last year. Bob Dylan placed his Rail Car there; Prune Nourry and her work Mater Earth, created from clay bricks fired in situ, will be installed next March...

2750 route de la Cride, Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade

Fondation Vasarely

Kinetic vibrations

The architectural centre dedicated to the plastic language of shapes and colours, designed by Victor Vasarely, has lived through many fashions since 1976. Standing like a UFO on its headland, extended into the open air by a sculpture park, it still inspires artists and visitors. Indeed, the created work and its walls never fail to provoke astonishment, inviting intergenerational reinterpretations. Damien Bénéteau presents a unique installation until 31 March. The Foundation will unveil a refreshed look at Op-art as part of its renewed partnership with the Centre Pompidou again this summer.

1 avenue Marcel Pagnol, Aix-en-Provence 

TER-UR-NB, collection Arkas. 

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© Fondation Vasarely
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Entre les murs de l’hôtel particulier, une scénographie pour la dernière exposition Mémoire-Désir autour des savoir-faire millénaires. Objets manifestes et matières incarnées. © Best Archi Design

Hôtel de Caumont

Mind-blowing tradition!

There have been so many surprises and amazing scenographies (regularly designed by Hubert Le Gall) behind this wonderfully preserved 18th-century heritage treasure in the Mazarin district since it opened in 2015! This spring Max Ernst is unveiled on 4 May behind the brilliant blue of Yves Klein, Intime, plunging us back into the Dada and Surrealist movements. The café, located between the courtyard and the garden, is one of Aix’s favourite stopping places.

3 rue Joseph Cabassol, Aix-en-Provence

Gallifet

Providence in Aix-en-Provence

With an average of 4 exhibitions per year and a highly active parallel calendar, the former Gallifet mansion is a yardstick of the local cultural scene. It breaks down contemporary art into its most current codes and expressions: photography, paper, urban, land art, and art brut. Gourmet breaks in the winter lounge are welcome whilst waiting for the Gallifet Kitchen to take up its summer quarters in the garden. You can also dine there privately, on evenings or weekends (reservations for a table of 22 people).

52 rue Cardinale, Aix-en-Provence

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Pierres blondes, ordonnance et cachet d’une autre époque, la « signature architecturale » de Caumont.© S. Lloyd
By Caroline Guiol

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